Sermon and Worship Resources

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Mark 1:9-15

Sermon

John Smylie

... we all face. He does not deny it, he does not brush over it rather he goes in the midst of it, is washed within it, and comes up from it to meet a dove and hear a voice from heaven. In a way, Jesus bursting forth from under the muddy waters of the Jordan River is a foretaste of his bursting out of the tomb after his horrendous crucifixion and death. There is a power that is around him at the beginning and at the end of his ministry, a power that never leaves him, a power that might best be ...

2. God's Descending Spirit

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... people. He knew of the coming Messiah! And he knew that Messiah would not only cleanse, he would also liberate the people - set them free to be what God intended. Messiah would offer a new relationship to God. John saw himself as preparing the way for that Messiah. Into the muddy waters of the Jordan stepped the carpenter from Nazareth. Some accounts of scripture say that John saw him, singled him out. (Matthew, John) In other reports, Jesus is simply part of the crowds that sought baptism in the river's ...

3. Have a Very Messy Christmas!

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

John Jamison

... by breathing. So the river, even the small one, was a place that people were drawn to. So, if you had something you wanted to tell people about, the river was a good place to go. And today, standing out in the middle of the river, with the muddy water swirling around his knees, is a man. Matthew told us the familiar story of John; John the Baptist. He was standing out there wearing what looked like a burlap bag, with a leather belt wrapped around his waist. He was wet, his hair hanging down, and overall he ...

4. Just a Little Faith Will Do

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... , but that is hardly possible. Always we will struggle with some doubt. That’s human nature. However, even a little faith is enough to receive God’s blessings. The painter, Whistler, once wrote an essay titled 10 P.M. This essay contended that at ten o’clock at night even muddy water gleams with the reflection of light. From London Bridge at 10 p.m. the river Thames, which looks quite ugly during the day, seems to lose its filth as it reflects the glow of the city’s gas lights. The surface of the ...

5. Lent 3

Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 95:1-11, John 4:5-42, Romans 5:1-11

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

... then have them leave their seats and surround the baptismal font. Pre-assign different voices to speak the following litany as people pour water into the font. Clean, pure, rushing water, running on the streets, flood water, muddy water, bath water, bottled water, ice cold water, steaming hot water, salt water, spring rain, bubbling up from our eyes, from the earth, from your heart. Leader Water of life, shower us with your love and fill our hearts. Make our desires pure and our actions holy, that your love ...

6. After Katrina

Song of Songs 8:1-14

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... grew at times to 60 feet high, tearing downhill at 40 miles per hour, leveling everything in its path. Thousands of people desperately tried to escape the wave. Those caught found themselves swept up in a torrent of oily, muddy water, surrounded by tons of grinding debris, which crushed some, provided rafts for others. It was over in 10 minutes. Over 2,200 dead, with many more homeless. The cleanup operation took years, with bodies being found months, and in a few cases, years after the flood. "Why?" people ...

7. If You Had Been Here

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... an unusual way. He asks: "Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail?" Once you get the picture like Jeremiah saw it, you realize the meaning of what he is saying. The Holy Land, of course, is quite dry. When the infrequent rains come, they come in torrents. The muddy waters roll down the streams in angry confusion. The very, next day the weary traveler comes to the brook, lips parched, tongue swollen from the lack of ...

8. The Three Bs

Luke 3:1-22, Psalm 29

Sermon

Susan R. Andrews

... s surprise — and perhaps disappointment — the God he expected was not the God who arrived. The mighty Messiah turned out to be the gentle Jesus. Rather than a military man lording it over his subjects, we meet instead, a modest man, who waded into muddy water, choosing to be a companion with those he had come to serve. The two conflicting images of the Holy Spirit included in Luke’s passage underline the difference between John’s expectation and the reality of Jesus. For John the Baptist, the Holy ...

9. In Defense of the Offense

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Sermon

James Merritt

... it is thought to depict the cycle of birth and death, and the emergence of beauty and harmony out of the muddy waters of chaos. Judaism has adopted the Star of David, a hexagram formed by combining two equal lateral triangles. It speaks ... man said, "Oh, don't worry about me. God is going to take care of me and deliver me." The helicopter left and soon after that, the flood waters rose and the man drowned. The next scene was in heaven. This man still wet, walked up to the throne room of God and said, "Lord, I ...

10. Jesus' Baptism: Affirmed by God

Mark 1:9-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... children in the family were able to assume responsibility for themselves. Parenthetically, that says something about the value that God places on family life. It also says something about the integrity and value of faithful work. Jesus left the carpenter’s shop and stepped into the muddy waters of the river Jordan. That was first of all a decision - a decision to follow God’s destiny for his life. Again and again, Jesus said that he had come not to do his own will, but to do the will of his Father. Isn ...

11. The Outsider

Sermon

Ron Lavin

... rather die." Jesus touched him. God does that kind of thing. He did it with Naamon, the stubborn commander, who was told by the prophet Elisha, "Go to the river Jordan and dip in the waters and you will be cleansed." He stormed away, "I could go to the rivers of my city Damascus! Why am I to go to the muddy waters of the Jordan? What will that do?" But someone touched him. His servants quietly said, "If the prophet said go do a great thing, wouldn't you do it? Why not follow his simple instructions?" So ...

12. A View From the Other Window

Genesis 6:1-8:22

Illustration

When the whole world was threatened with destruction, Noah built an ark. His big boat had just one window. Where was it? Not in the bottom where he would have to look into the dark and muddy water. Not on the side where he would have to look out into the surrounding storm. But on top where he could look up. Up - to where, as the storm would abate, he could catch the first available glimpse of blue. Up - in the direction of hope. Up - to God. From ...

13. The Strength of the Master

Sermon

Thomas Slavens

... strength of the Master. The Master was a person of the out of doors. Until he was thirty years old, Jesus probably helped his father, Joseph the carpenter build furniture and make crude tools. At the age of thirty Jesus was baptized in the turbid, muddy waters of the Jordan. After his baptism, he retreated to the wilderness of Judaea to be alone and to plan his life pattern. The ministry of the Master was largely spent on the shores of lakes and the roads between settled communities. On that last fateful ...

14. If Only We Would Do The Obvious ...

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

... dignified solution, at least one a bit more religious. Naaman was outraged. I thought that he would at least come out to me, pray to the Lord his God, wave his hand over the diseased spots, and cure me! I could have washed in better rivers back home, if muddy water is all it takes to cure leprosy. (2 Kings 5:11) It was rather like going to a professional about a weight problem and being told simply to eat less for help with obesity, or being instructed in a smoking clinic not to purchase or bum any more ...

15. Loving The Jesus Way

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

... and holds it against me." We know about that, don't we -- but such is not the way of love -- love does not keep a record of wrongs. We betray our lack of Jesus' love by our cutting conversations. Love does not stir around in the muddy waters of maliciousness. It's unfortunate -- but our tongues so often betray our Christian profession. Elbert Hubbard once said, "Gossip is a vice enjoyed vicariously." You may not engage directly in the forms of evil that are being talked about, but we listen and witness the ...

16. He's Back

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Mark Trotter

... wind went up into Galilee, to Herod's palace at Machaerus, and bounced off the walls there: repent, repent, repent. His voice echoed in the consciences of all the people of the land: repent. John had only one message. He stands there, knee deep in Jordan's muddy waters, looks at you and me with these dark, deep-set, penetrating eyes, and says, "Repent." You probably won't see John the Baptist on any Christmas cards this year, but he is part of the story. He is the main figure, the dominant figure, in Advent ...

17. God's Day Off

Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... borough council took it over and made it into a very pleasant little spot for the enjoyment of the entire neighborhood. There are lovely flower beds, beautiful lawns, shady trees, a rock garden, and a little pool where two rather tired ducks make the best of the muddy water. The park has been fenced in with iron railings and it's locked at night. There are notices which say "Do not pick the flowers" and "Please keep off the grass." Some might say "Why the fence and the signs? Why not leave people free to do ...

18. Thanks for the Memories!

Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14

Sermon

Ken Lentz

... wilderness. The stumbling of the people through the Red Sea looked as though their efforts would lead to a watery grave as they looked over their shoulders and saw the Egyptian war machine close on their heels. But the chariots were caught in the muddy waters. The people struggled up upon the dry land and turned their footsteps in the direction of their meeting with destiny at Mount Sinai. They left behind the days and decades of digging clay, kneading the moistened clay with small hoes, shaping the clay ...

19. The Mud Room

John 9:1-41

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... of the fields, work-folk coming in from a hard day’s labor in mines, rivers, farms, or creeks, would shed their muddy boots, overalls, coats, or other equipment and hang them up in the mud room before entering into the living part of the ... clay pottery. It can always be renewed. As long as it isn’t oven/kiln-fired, even hard, crumbling, cracked, or broken, the potter can add water to the clay, heal it, re-form it, re-mold it, and renew it into a fresh piece of art. This is essentially what Jesus (the ...

20. Egypt

Ezekiel 29:1-21, Ezekiel 30:1-26, Ezekiel 31:1-18, Ezekiel 32:1-32

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... world. As in the earlier dragon allegory, the monster is in the streams of Egypt. Here, however, its presence is a threat to the streams themselves, and to the people who rely upon them. The beast is thrashing about in your streams, churning the water with your feet and muddying the streams (v. 2; compare Dan. 7:7, which has likely been influenced by this text, and see the Additional Notes). The Lord intervenes, catching the monster in a net (v. 3; compare 29:4, where the creature is taken with hooks). An ...

21. The Greatest Table in the World

Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

Eric Ritz

... more grateful for this bread, which in our hearts is your own body, broken for us on the cross. We praise you for drink--for water and milk and ale and soft drinks and all the precious liquids that sustain our bodies--but praise you more for this juice of the ... drunken night on the town. It was raining, and he was wet and muddy. Seeing that young recruit kneeling by the bed caused the drill sergeant to be further infuriated. He took off one of his muddy boots and threw it at the young recruit and hit him on ...

22. A Defiant Response to a Dangerous Theology: Does God Desire to Wipe Us Out?

Gn 6:1-8. 9:6-17

Sermon

... be a floody, floody. The Lord said to Noah, there's gonna be a floody, floody. Get those animals out of the muddy, muddy, Children of the Lord. So rise, shine, and give God the glory, glory. (etc.) It's an altogether lovely story until we ... give them all those animals to float in the boat, we do not give them an equal number of human beings to float face down in the water. Why? Because those human beings will soon be dead, don't you see. And that wouldn't be very pretty. No, it wouldn't be very pretty ...

23. Crying Out of the Depths

Psalm 130:1-8

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

... depths, I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my cry." Jeremiah cried out of the depths of DESPAIR. We call him the weeping prophet. He said one time “O, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night for the sins of my people." When thrown into a muddy cistern for his unpopular prophecies, Jeremiah curses the day he was born. Jeremiah knows gloom, despair, daily agony, but Jeremiah also knows the Lord. The word of the Lord is fire in his belly and passion in ...

24. What Kind of Sheep Are You?

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20, Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... to call all of us into Jesus’ fold, where God will make us lie down in green pastures, and lead us beside the still waters of life in God’s lush kingdom. This advent, as we near the savior’s birth, I ask you…. What kind of sheep … ... pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet? “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: ...

25. The Stone is My Witness

Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

... before –a fossil is a record in stone. When the earth or the resin or tar around it is soft and pliable, usually watery or muddy or sticky, either a fern or a flower or a footprint, or a fish or a shell or a feather falls upon it and gets trapped ... the marble and carved ‘til I set him free.”** To God, the artist and divine sculptor, who created humans from clay and water, who sculpted us into the divine image, and who breathed life within us, we are already beautiful and full of life. But sometimes ...

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